After more than three years of Russia's illegal aggressive war against Ukraine, the topic of peace is once again dominating international conversations - especially in the capitals of Washington and Moscow. This is stated in an analysis of the East Stratcom Task Force of the Diplomatic Service of the European Union on the current propaganda campaigns of the Kremlin.
Undoubtedly, it is Kiev that most strongly desires a just and sustainable peace. But recently, it is Moscow that has been demonstrating ostentatious gestures towards peace, while at the same time cynically blaming Ukraine and Europe for its own aggression. These attempts at manipulation are as transparent as they are hypocritical.
However, cynicism has long been a trademark of the Kremlin's disinformation machine, which is currently in full mobilization on the occasion of the upcoming celebration of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Moscow is once again using the opportunity to practice historical revisionism, trying to blur the memory of World War II and link the attack on Ukraine to the victory over Nazism 80 years ago.
Lost in Translation
Russian President Vladimir Putin, still wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes, seems to have recently discovered the word "truce" in the dictionary. The problem is that he has clearly not checked what it means. How else can we explain the fact that Russian missiles and drones continue to attack Ukraine even after a unilateral Easter ceasefire was declared?
The truth is that Russia is not really seeking peace, but is using calls for "truce" as a cover for military action. The Kremlin wants war, not peace. Or perhaps this is an Orwellian attempt to reinterpret the meaning of the word "truce" - like "bomb civilians mercilessly and indiscriminately".
That's why Russia has violated its own "truces" thousands of times - with strikes on Kherson, Nikolaev and the killing of civilians in Kiev. So, unlike Shakespeare's lasting contributions to the English language, Putin's attempts to give new meaning to words are simply bluff and diversion - an attempt to present himself as a peacemaker.
This time - for real?
The transparent trick with the "Easter truce" has apparently inspired Putin to put on another show - this time he has declared a unilateral truce from May 8 to 10 to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II. Meanwhile, Russian troops "celebrated" the truce with a drone strike that killed a 12-year-old girl in Dnepropetrovsk.
The Kremlin's propaganda machine immediately went into full gear - praising Putin's "noble pursuit of peace", his "fatherly care" for the soldiers, and his "gestures of goodwill" towards "ungrateful Ukraine". Almost unanimously, however, the entire propaganda line is aimed at denigrating Ukraine - accusing President Zelensky of obstructing peace, calling the country "terrorist", preparing excuses for the upcoming violations of the new truce.
The Europeans - the eternal culprits
When there is no other convenient target, the Kremlin always points the blame at Europe. The past week has again been filled with false claims that the EU is sabotaging peace efforts because it "hates Russia" - given that "Russia does not pose a threat to the security of Europe".
The latter statement is especially absurd against the backdrop of Russian prime-time television, which regularly threatens Europe with nuclear annihilation and speculates on which countries will be the Kremlin's next targets.
Nazis! Nazis everywhere!
As May 9 approaches, Kremlin spokespeople are becoming increasingly obsessed with the word "Nazis". For years, the Kremlin has used the topic of Nazism as a weapon of disinformation - presenting Russia as the sole victor over Hitler, ignoring the fact that 6 million Ukrainians fought against Nazism, and Ukraine was one of the main battlegrounds of World War II.
Now the Kremlin is not just attacking Ukraine, but also accusing Europe of "reviving Nazism", of falsifying history, desecrating the memory of Holocaust victims, and encouraging "Nazi sentiments" in Ukraine. And the EU's refusal to support the propaganda spectacle on Red Square on May 9 - according to Moscow - was evidence of Europe's "fascist mentality".
All these claims are frankly false. But they demonstrate a basic tactic of information warfare - historical revisionism. For the Kremlin, there is no page of history that cannot be rewritten - as long as it justifies Russia's current aggression.